A Match Made in Hell
by Lucreace
Summary: "By the time I realised I loved her, I had already lost her." A story of how a perfect match was destroyed by inopportune timing. If only Rodolphus had known the truth...


**Written in response to the following prompts: Arranged Marriage, Love/Hate. I was given them an age ago and been wondering how to form a reply to them. I think this will be a longer piece, going to aim for around 1000 words per chapter but we shall see how we get on!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Lu**

"By the time I realised I loved her, I had already lost her."

January 1967

Rodolphus had been summoned home. He had no idea why. The snow on the ground around the Manor was always beautiful but he took no time to appreciate the view. The owl had arrived that morning, as always, dropping the letter off at the breakfast table in the Great Hall. He'd been seated next to Gethin Bulstrode, deep in conversation about Quidditch tactics for the next match, which was this coming Saturday when the letter arrived. He had thought that weird in itself. The only time his parents ever got in touch was when Rabastan had gotten into some form of bother. As he was the oldest it was apparently up to him to make sure he kept out of trouble; when Rab was in trouble, he was in trouble! Thing was, Rab had stayed out of it for the past few weeks. There had been a long conversation and a few threats and for the moment, his younger brother was keeping a low profile.

That he was the only one who had received the call confused him even further. If there had been a death in the family, Rab would be walking home beside him. No, this was a matter that concerned him and him alone. He didn't recall any trouble he had been in, that his parents knew about anyway. The front door opened as he approached, his mother was waiting for him. "Rodolphus," she said. She was dressed in her custom dark fabric gown, her hair scrapped back from her forehead into a tight bun. Her blue eyes, identical to his, were hard but the gnawed state of her lower lip had him worrying all over again.

"What is it?" he asked. She shook her head and stepped back from the doorway. Inside was much the same as it always had been. His mother didn't say a word as she let him into the sitting room. "Mother?" he asked. She only shook her head.

"Sit down Rod," she said. Was that a hint of fear in her voice? He sure hoped not. His mother hadn't been afraid of anything as far as he could tell. This must be bad! He did as he was told however and sank onto the couch in front of the roaring fire. At least the large room was warm! He rested his hands on his knees, trying hard not to think about what this was all about. Maybe it wasn't as bad as all that, perhaps it was just something they were blowing out of proportion. He relaxed, there was no sense worrying about something that hadn't happened!

It was about ten minutes later that his father entered the room; his look was as solemn as his mothers. Sitting up, he met his father's eyes but remained silent. The older Lestrange sat opposite him and rested his arms on his knees. It was a shame to see that his father had not lost any of the weight the mediwitch had advised him to last summer. According to their records, he was at high risk of his heart failing and being several stone heavier than he should was not helping anything at all.

"How old are you now boy?" he asked. So that was it, straight in to it, no greeting, no how are you, just the same demanding tone he always used. It was no wonder he and Rab had decided to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas.

"Nearly Eighteen," he replied, resorting back to one word answers. He knew it annoyed the old man and there was nothing he could do about it short of forcing him.

"You're getting married," his father said. Rod blinked.

"What?"

"You're getting married," his father repeated. Rod sat back in the chair and ran a hand over his face. Fuck! That was not what he had expected to hear. He knew his parents were arranging the whole thing for him, he just didn't expect it to be so soon!

"Already?" he muttered.

"I was married at your age, had you when I was twenty one!" he said. This was something his father delighted in reminding both him and his brother. "Don't look so distraught boy, you're lucky," he said.

"How is this lucky?" he asked, trying very hard not to frown.

"You're marrying Bellatrix Black," his father announced.

Well, now that was a surprise. Bell was in his year at school, he knew her by sight, though they'd spoken little, other than the occasional greeting. He wondered if she knew yet. He pressed his lips together, trying to think about what he knew of her. She was the curly haired one who had a loud mouth on her, she was vocal at matches, passionate in her following and if he was honest, a little scary. She was the prettiest girl in the school however and that made her desirable; by most of the boys. As far as he knew, she had been chased by most of them and hexed them all. She had quite the reputation of being a complete bitch. Pressing his lips together, he slowly nodded.

"I see," he said, keeping his tone neutral. "When is this to take place?" he asked.

"June 6th, just after school finishes." His father said.

That was six months away, six months before he was chained to one of the nastiest creatures in the school. He had so much to do before then! He gave his father a nod, "Alright."

"She's here," his father said.

"What?" he asked.

"She's here; you'll have some time to talk about it," his father said. Rod's eyes widened as his father got to his feet. No, she couldn't be here! He didn't want to speak to her, it was too soon. He needed some time to get his head around the idea they were getting married. He was powerless to stop his father however, who was already at the door. "I'll send her in," were his last words. When the door closed, he was filled with a sense of impending dread.


End file.
